The Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (SUBPESCA) has resolved to renew the extractive ban for the 'loco' resource (Concholepas concholepas) for a period of five years, starting on January 1, between the regions of Arica and Parinacota and Aysén.

The conservation measure, recommended by the Benthonic Technical Scientific Committee, has the purpose of ensuring the sustainable use of the resource, avoiding the reduction of its population in free access areas. It will also strengthen the control and supervision by the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca) of the potential theft of the mollusc, making it difficult to move from the management areas to free access areas.

From January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2022 SUBPESCA prohibits, in free access areas, the removal, extraction and puddling, commercialization, transportation, processing, processing, transformation and storage of the species and derived products.

To establish the closures, SUBPESCA relies on the Scientific Committees of each resource that proposes the extractive closures, according to the available scientific information. For this purpose, the Government has annual monitoring and research programs for fisheries, under the responsibility of the Fisheries Development Institute (FIFG) or possible research funded by the Fisheries Research Fund.

This conservation measure does not apply to marine reserves, coastal marine spaces of native people and Benthonic Resource Management and Exploitation Areas (Amerb).[email protected]www.fis.com